What Is Food Storage?

Among the hundreds of books on the old wooden shelves in the small 1838 colonial home I grew up in, there was one book that stood out to me most. Aesop’s Fables.

I would pull it off the shelf, dust off the soft green cover, and open it’s pristine pages with their large colorful illustrations. The one story I would always sit and read was “The Ant and the Grasshopper”. I am sure you are familiar with the story.

The story begins with an ant who spends the entire summer working hard by gathering food to store because he knows the winter is coming. The grasshopper on the other hand wastes his time singing and playing all summer. Soon the days grow cold and the grasshopper doesn’t have time to get the food he needs for the winter. The winter comes the grasshopper starves to death.

The moral of the story is simple. We need to prepare for winters of life by storing extra food to sustain us for an extended period of time. Our winters may include natural disasters, rising food prices, inflation, or losing a job. As the wise ant, we can prepare now by gathering and storing extra food for our families to prepare for times of need.

How to get started

Step 1 – Set a goal

You don’t need to set an immediate goal of a full year supply and go into debt to get there. Just start small. When my wife and I started building up our food storage we started with a goal of 1 month. Once we reached that we went on to 3 months, then 6, and so on. Set a goal, reach it, and move on. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, just start with one can at a time.

Step 2 – Find out what you need

When I first started looking into food storage it was overwhelming. I didn’t know where to start. There were many food storage calculators but they were all too complex, confusing, or didn’t meet my needs. They tended to focus on experts rather than beginners.

I wanted to create a food storage calculator that was simple, straightforward, and removed that overwhelming gap so that I could find out what I need and track of what I have. As one user stated, “There are many food storage calculators but this one is the most user friendly… it is a godsend.”

Watch this quick demo to see how it works and to find out what you need:

Step 3 – Rotate and keep it fresh

Once you have your food storage building up it is important to keep track of expiration dates and rotate your food accordingly. As Wikipedia states:

“If good food storage guidelines are followed, using and replenishing your food storage should become a commonplace, everyday activity, as normal as preparing meals. Although it does require an initial investment to stock a pantry, eventually it becomes the most economical and convenient way to live. Instead of going to the store when you need something and paying full price for it, you can go to your storage room or pantry to get what you need. Then you replace it next time it is on sale.”

Whether you have begun storing food or not, now is the time to start. Remember, don’t get overwhelmed with all of the items you need to buy. Just start small and work your way up to a year supply. You will be amazed at your progress when you keep a slow and steady course to preparedness. That way, when the winters of life come, you will have what you need to keep you and your family safe.

What are some ways you are building up your food storage? Reply in the comments below to start a conversation!

2 Comments

Darin sharon hansen

Jason

Hey Darin! I am glad you like it! Yes, it is $3 a month for the upgraded version but becomes free once you reach and maintain a year supply! Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever. Great to see you on here!